Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

For many rural Tanzanians, coming face to face with pieces of modern technology for the very first time is more than simply learning about its various functionalities. The personal computer, the internet, and various websites are more likely than not, written completely in English , or to a lesser extent, another foreign language, and the prevalence of foreign languages is all the more comprehensive when the subject becomes more technical, such as manuals for troubleshooting software problems, guidelines on network configuration, FAQs on how to use an online system.

There are many things provided as public goods that people in other parts of the world take for granted.  Many of those public goods simply do not exist out here in Tanzania, and the importance of those public goods are not realized until they are found to be non-existent.  One of these public goods is street addresses.  Even in the largest and most developed cities of the country, most streets have no names, there is no such thing as house numbering even on the streets that do have names.  Partially given the woeful state of the postal system , no systematic effort is undertaken to change this reality.

For those who knows, the author works in a job where the main responsibility is providing agricultural inputs to farmers on loan .  The method by which it is done is through a series of retail outlets in the remotes villages where farmers can visit to purchase those inputs on loan.  So naturally, preparing to open the shops requires transport of the said inputs from a central warehouse to the locations of the shops.  As the coming agricultural season approaches, the team here is beginning those "truck runs."  Unfortunately bottlenecks are everywhere, and some of them experienced recently could be considered novel for the inexperienced.

The house that I resided in rural Tanzania was also inhabited by a 4-month-old kitten, a sort of pet that my roommate was looking to acquire for some time. So far one of the most interesting thing about the experience is to observe how the Tanzanian housekeeper who showed up thrice a week interact with (or, more accurately, behaves toward) the kitten. To put concisely, it is almost one of bipolarity, petting the animal and giving her attention one moment, but loudly (and rather harshly) shooing it away whenever the kitten gets jumpy and playful enough to interrupt her housework.